LSAT Diary: Learning LSAT Logic Games

This LSAT Diary is from Jasmine, who's studying for the December 2014 LSAT. Below, she shares her LSAT studying experience. Read her previous LSAT Diary.

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Please thank Jasmine for sharing her story below in the comments!

Jasmine's LSAT Diary:

Logic games are like that elementary school bully.

They terrorize you but then when you really get to know them, you realize that they have this hard life and they just want to be understood. But they don’t know how to make the proper first move.

Logic games want you to make the first move. They’re ready to be understood.

At least that’s what I’ve found. In my first post, I talked about my cold experience with logic games during a mock LSAT at John Marshall Law School. That was…an experience. However, as I learned about logic games, I saw that my basic structure (set-up) wasn’t far off. There was a lot that I was missing but I had the basics down. This led me to my latest, most exciting discovery:

Logic games can be learned!

In my exactly three months of being a 0L, I have given logic games the same side eye that I gave organic chemistry during my then 19 years (whole life) of pre-med. I didn’t want to do it. However, taking an LSAT prep course will probably forever be one of the best things I (read: my parents) have done for myself. Mind you, it was quite the financial sacrifice but it was an investment that I already see paying off. Every test prep book or course has its own jargon so I won’t go into confusing detail but we started with one-to-one ordering games. I wrote a set up. It didn’t seem so bad. Then we started writing the rules down, the same thing I’d done during my mock test. Okay, so then I was on the right path. Then we started getting into questions. Tip: the first question is always an elimination question. If you live on this blog, you probably already know what that means. If you’re like me then: right?! Isn’t that amazing?! How did we not know?!*

*If you still don’t know then I’m confident that Steve has a great, life changing post about this somewhere.

**If this was jargon then I’m sorry.

At that moment, I mentally face-palmed myself for those simple questions that I got wrong. However, my shame quickly turned into complete happiness as we kept doing more problems… and I started getting answers right. Talk about relief! Within moments, all I wanted to do was logic games. That spilled into how I studied. I skipped over logic reasoning and reading comp (I’m pretty good) in favor of more logic games.

That was, until I realized that there were more than just one-to-one ordering games. But that’s okay. I’m still going for it. LG are where I lost an overwhelming majority of my points (only 7/23 correct) and it’s where I’m planning to recoup them.

And as for everything, including LSAT studying, there has to be a balance. Today was rough. I think I was actually exhausted. Still, I made myself do lots of logical reasoning  questions to make up for the past days where I haven’t. Logic games, dare I say it, were my reward. I’ve been avoiding reading comp, and as petty as it seems, I think it’s because the passage look long but I don’t want to think myself into thinking that I’m bomb at RC so I don’t need to practice as much. I didn’t get 100% (21/27) so there’s room for improvement. There’s always room for improvement. Tomorrow will be RC day with ample logical reasoning.

With my schedule, which has only gotten busier, taking a prep course has been the best option for me. Even their detailed online plan would not have been enough for me. The homework is good because yay, practice, but there’s so much of it. Like it would take up its own class. To be honest, I’m behind. But I want to get caught up in the next week. The procrastination is still real but it’s dwindling as I read more about my dream schools and what it’ll take to receive those fateful phone calls.

I’m aiming for three hours (now four) of studying a day but aggressive fundraising to purchase a property is not as one-and-done as a communication coordinator who’s a little more than a month out from the LSAT would hope. The process would have ideally been over by now but it’s actually been prolonged as we’re still working to reach our goal.

I’m also moonlighting as a prospective law student. Until I have score in my hand/inbox, you all will remain some of the only people who know. Why the secrecy? I like sure things. I don’t want to say, “I’m studying for the LSAT.” I want to say, “I’m going to law school.” Upon hearing I wanted to be a lawyer, someone’s already said “lawyers don’t really get to spend time with their families.” I think this person missed the part where family is one of the most important things to me and that I’d never endanger that which is why I want to do all this while I’m still young but, you know. -_- After Saturday December 6th, I can breathe but right now, I don’t need anyone polluting my air.

Photo by bobaubuchon



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